Tamiya 1/12 scale Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14
Martin
Seibert
Öhling,
Austria
Martin installed LED headlamps and taillights on
Tamiya’s 1/12 scale Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14, hiding a 3-volt battery under the
seat. He removed the kit’s chrome plating with Revell’s Color Clean by soaking
the parts for several hours, then repainted them with Alclad II chrome.
About this Photo
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on Thu, Jul 8 2010 3:20 PM
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subfixer
wrote
re:Tamiya 1/12 scale Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14
on Fri, Jul 9 2010 6:01 PM
Very nice job on this, I like the discolored pipes especially.
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Slynky
wrote
re:Tamiya 1/12 scale Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14
on Wed, Jul 28 2010 4:55 PM
Very nice ! Where are the "night" shots? *wink*
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Scrappy KoKo
wrote
re:Tamiya 1/12 scale Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14
on Wed, Jul 28 2010 4:58 PM
Looks like the real thing. Nice work!
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gregm
wrote
re:Tamiya 1/12 scale Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14
on Wed, Jul 28 2010 11:23 PM
Wow!
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BobMccabe
wrote
re:Tamiya 1/12 scale Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14
on Fri, Jul 30 2010 2:58 PM
OUTSTANDING WORK!!
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Syntech
wrote
re:Tamiya 1/12 scale Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14
on Fri, Jul 30 2010 7:28 PM
Thanks for the nice comments.
@Slynky:
I've uploaded some additional "night" shots :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/52575388@N04/show/
(I hope the link works)
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jimmyz
wrote
re:Tamiya 1/12 scale Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14
on Fri, Jul 30 2010 7:42 PM
I am a life long motorcyclist -well, biker- in real life. Despite a personal preference for Harleys and British iron, I like all motorcycles and machines in general. One thing that has always frustrated me with motorcycle models was the way the exhaust systems came in two halves, especially when the were chrome plated. There was just no way to hide that awful seam! While today we have metal finishes and methods to work around that, the techniques are more than the typical intermediate modeler can manage. On some bikes, antiques and military styles, since the pipes are wrapped, painted, or coated in something other than chrome, it's no big deal to remove seams. It always struck me that just making exhaust systems and/or their components solid would be a no brainer. While that is one beautiful model I wonder if it is also the sectioned exhaust that required mad skills to get it to look as realistic as it does. That's always the chance with basing a purchase on a finished model. It looks so perfect but the folks that build them are true masters with skills few others share. Despite that I consider myself a good modeler with all the appropriate tools and supplies plus my better than average skills, I wonder if I could produce such a result. I think motorcycles are among the most challenging of vehicle models, excluding some ships, one can build.
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Syntech
wrote
re:Tamiya 1/12 scale Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14
on Fri, Jul 30 2010 7:53 PM
Seems that my previous posting got lost...
Anyway, some night shots of the ZX-14 can be found at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/52575388@N04/show/
I want to mention that this was my first attempt to customize a model with LEDs, and I'm pretty happy with the result.
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BaBill212
wrote
re:Tamiya 1/12 scale Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14
on Sun, Aug 1 2010 4:39 AM
Great job on the kit Martin. Add a few more diffused lights for photography or, possibly, another "blip" on the exposure or aperture settings.
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Damir from Croatia
wrote
re:Tamiya 1/12 scale Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14
on Sun, Aug 1 2010 5:14 AM
The only missing stuff is the gasoline :)
Man , you're not normal :) Excellent work !
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Syntech
wrote
re:Tamiya 1/12 scale Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14
on Tue, Aug 3 2010 1:59 AM
Thank you again for all your comments and suggestions. I had never expected such positive reactions.
@jimmyz: yes, the exhaust is split into parts on this model, that's why I did (had to) remove the chrome plating, removed the seams and painted it again with Alclad. But I wouldn't say it requires mad skills to do this. Patience helps a lot here. :)
BaBill212: sorry, I'm not sure if I fully understand your posting (english is not my native language). Do you mean the duration to make the photos was too long, or that the surrounding area is too dark, or both? I have made some photos with lights on and the bike is much more visible (like this one: http://www.flickr.com/photos/52575388@N04/4845199136/). Guess I'll upload more of them, but I'm not too happy with these photos, so maybe I'm making some new ones...
Any suggestions are always very welcome.
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Syntech
wrote
re:Tamiya 1/12 scale Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14
on Tue, Aug 3 2010 2:39 AM
@jimmyz: "Despite that I consider myself a good modeler with all the appropriate tools and supplies plus my better than average skills, I wonder if I could produce such a result."
Well, my first question is: did you ever try it? If not, grab a cheap model and try it! :) Believe me, it is not that difficult.
- First thing you need is patience
- Then you need something that can remove all the chrome (plus any kind of primer if one is applied). I can recommend what I've used (Revell’s Color Clean), but I'm not sure if it is available in your area.
- Gluing, priming and grinding the seams away should not be a problem.
- Painting with Alclad is a bit difficult, but in short: you need to paint it glossy (!) black and let it fully dry before you paint with Alclad II Chrome in several thin coats. Let it fully dry again in a dust free area before you touch it.
Voila, mission "exhaust painting" accomplished. But I'm sure there are better and more detailed explainations floating around the net, if needed. This is just how I did it.
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jimmyz
wrote
re:Tamiya 1/12 scale Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14
on Wed, Aug 4 2010 6:28 AM
Hi Syntech. I have built a few bike models over the years. The real ones I have created came out much better! But seriously, I built a few Harley dressers and stripped them down so they were "rat" customs. I had open primaries, belt drives, scratched exhaust pipes made from tubing, etc. But just like on the real versions, flat black hides a lot of ugliness! I have built a few military motorcycles and there as well, the problem areas like the pipes can be easily dealt with. I have a 1/12 scale Vincent Black Shadow in the stash I haven't attempted yet because I want it to come out as perfect as possible. I haven't ever tried the Alclad products or the other metalized finishes. People seem to have a love/hate relationship with them where they either work fine or not so well. Much of what I read say they are not durable and even touching the finish with bare skin will mar it. I saw an outstanding aircraft model that was truly mirror bright on another modeling forum. I asked if it was Alclad and was immediately chastized and everything from my masculinity to whether there were primates within the past two generation on my family tree was questioned. It was another product I hadn't heard of before -I forgot the name. I didn't bother going back to thread or visit the web site since one of the people who were so nasty was the creator/seller of the product. I guess I need to just buy some Alclad and try it. I had read that the secret was in the cirrect primer and doing a perfect job in prep and priming the part first. I have a half dozen P-51D Mustangs one of which I would love to do in that super shiny metal finish with just the OD green panel in front of the canopy. What did you use for the discoloration on the exhaust pipes? The blue and yellow where the pipe feeds into the muffler is superb! I have seen some pre mixed finishes for that but your looks too darn good to have come from a bottle! I'd love to see a step by step article from you on doing that exhaust! I think cross over appeal to the model car set would be enormous as well!
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Syntech
wrote
re:Tamiya 1/12 scale Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14
on Fri, Aug 6 2010 2:07 AM
@jimmyz: "The blue and yellow where the pipe feeds into the muffler is superb!" Now I understand the excitement (sorry that I didn't get it earlier)! Yes, I agree, it looks great on the photo. But I'm very sorry to inform you that this is not painted, it is a reflection on the exhaust. I think this information will probably burst some bubbles, but I don't see why I should lie about it. In fact, I'm sure that no one could _paint_ a model to get exactly this effect. On the other side, I'm sure that no bike exhaust will ever be so much discolored by heat so far away from the engine (I hope this sentence makes sense in english). That's why I did not paint it on the model, because I think it's not realistic. Anyway, for discoloring (in general) I use a weathering set from Tamiya (with blue, orange and oil) or highly thinned clear blue and clear orange from Tamiya and for my next project I'll try out Alcald pale burnt metal and clear yellow to see what results this will give...
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